12/01/2011

First-time directors Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jalmari Helander
film profile]) and Saara Cantell (Heartbeats [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) received the most nominations (seven) from Filmiaura, the association of Finnish film professionals, for this year’s Jussi Awards, the country’s top annual film prizes.

Dome Karukoski has only six nominations for Lapland Odyssey [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – last year’s biggest box office grosser – but they are in the leading categories, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Jussi Vatanen) and Best Screenplay (Pekko Pesonen).

Lapland Odyssey will compete against two other “Christmas" titles for Best Film: Rare Exports, as well as the surprise nominee The Painting Sellers. Juho Kuosmanen’s graduation film from Aalto University won Cinéfondation’s first prize at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. The 58-minute work gets another four chances to win a Jussi, for Best Director, Best Screenplay (JP Passi), Best Actress (Auli Mantila, also producer of the film with Jussi Rantamäki) and Best Production Design (Kuosmanen and JP Passi).

Cantell’s episodic film Heartbeats is a frontrunner in many acting categories as well as for Best Director. Another first-time female director, Marja Pyykkö, is in the running for five Jussis with her coming-of-age film Run Sister Run.

Aleksi Salmenperä’s Bad Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], presented in last year’s Berlinale Panorama section, has three nominations, including Best Actor (Ville Virtanen).

In the documentary category, established filmmaker Pirjo Honkasalo will compete with her film Ito – Diary of an Urban Priest against newcomer Joonas Neuvonen (Reindeerspotting), as well as Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen, who represent Finland in this year’s Oscar nominations race with Steam of Life [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

The Jussi ceremony will take place in Helsinki on February 6.